Shower chairs or seats permit the user to be seated, rather than standing, while taking a shower or while coloring or conditioning one's hair while showering. Such chairs or seats, however, are typically not readily storable when not being used. This creates a problem in small bathrooms such as those which are usually present in apartments in large cities where space is at a premium. In such instances, a non-collapsible chair takes up an excessive amount of space which is very impractical.
In order to overcome this problem, some shower chairs or seats are permanently attached to the wall of the shower stall or to the wall adjacent the bathtub in a bathtub-shower combination. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,668 (Aronovitz) discloses a bath or shower seat in the form of a panel which is hingedly attached to the wall adjacent the bathtub. The panel is supported by the top surface of the bathtub and, when not in use, can be moved into an upward position so as to be adjacent the wall surrounding the bathtub. U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,100 (Kindrick) discloses a bath bench in the form of a panel which is hingedly attached to the wall adjacent the bathtub and is supported by the top surface of the bathtub when the panel is in the downward position. The bench disclosed in this latter patent differs from the seat disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,668 (Aronovitz) in that includes a storage catch member attached to the wall adjacent the bathtub to secure the panel in the vertical position when not in use. U.S. Pat. No. 1,923,428 (Frankenstein) discloses a bench or chair for a bathtub and differs from the seats or benches disclosed in the aforementioned patents in that the bench or chair is self-storing within the wall adjacent the bathtub. Thus, the chairs or seats disclosed in all of the aforementioned patents overcome the storage problem by being hingedly attached to the wall adjacent the bathtub or by providing a compartment within the wall for the storage of the chair when not in use. In any event, the chair is permanently mounted to the bathtub or shower stall enclosure and cannot be readily removed therefrom or replaced, if necessary.
In view of the foregoing, it has become desirable to develop a shower chair which is readily collapsible upon itself and which can be stored within the shower stall when not in use.